My Online Footprint

The idea of an online presence is very interesting to me. When we were younger, and didn't know the dangers of an online footprint, googling your name was just a fun online activity. In fact, in middle school, it was an accomplishment to be the person with the most photos of themselves to show up. I would always take pride in knowing that I had multiple pictures even at a young age because of ties with my Uncle, who at the time had just become the first open gay ambassador of the United States of America. The photo below, is the photo of my family that would frequently appear when you googled my name, or even David Huebner, my uncles name.

Looking back, that was a very naive way to think. Scandal after scandal with facebook leaking personal information and selling your data to companies makes this little contest we used to find fun and entertaining seem so stupid. Just today I went back and did the same thing, I googled my name and looked for what information about me may pop up. 

These 4 photos came up almost immediately without the need for scrolling. The question is, while I did not personally post these, am I okay with them being connected to my online presence? 

https://www.google.com/search?q=erin+huebner&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwip6p-uurbhAhUHvFkKHfbTDuUQ_AUIDigB&cshid=1554381623796309&biw=1440&bih=727

Luckily for me, everyone of these links speaks positively about me and things i've done in my lifetime. One article highlights my high school water polo team, who my senior year won the state championship for the 3rd year in a row. The article discusses my leadership as a senior captain, as well as the goals i contributed to help my team win. Leadership is a great quality looked for when entering the work force, so in the end this article could potentially have a positive impact. A second article was written about me traveling with the Princeton Tigers club water polo team, who I played with for 3 years, to the Junior Olympic tournament in California where we got 3rd place over-all out of a hundred plus teams from all over the US. This article doesn't really have a clear benefit to me, but it also is very positive, and causes no need for alarm. The last article, talks about my biggest middle school accomplishment, becoming the first Student Liaison on the North Penn Educational Foundation, which is a foundation that provides grants to teachers in my school district to aide them in providing new and innovative ways to educate our students. I like that this article is linked to my name, not only because it was one of my most prided moments, but also because it shows good qualities that employers look for. The article shows my ambition, dedication, and generosity. The forth picture is simply my LinkedIn profile, which I check on a weekly basis to make sure it is representing me in a way I see fit. 

As for my own social media presence, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and LinkedIn are about all I ever use. For all of these platforms, I carefully watch what is posted and what I am tagged in.  I have one simple question that always helps me decide what is appropriate to post; the woman that taught me how to swim in her backyard pool, coached me when I joined summer swim team, coached my High school swim team, got me my first job as a lifeguard at her country club, and now will be my boss as I become an assistant swim coach for her team, follows my social media. The easy question is "Is this okay for Coach Rob to see" if its a yes, then post it! If i even have to question, then it wouldn't be good for my online presence as a young adult looking to be successful after college.